The Warrior
by Mahtoma
Summary: Alita comes to Mainframe. How will someone who has known nothing but killing fit in in a world of psuedo peace?


The Warrior  
By Ryan Norman  
  
Alita, Desty Nova, ScrapIron city, Tiphares, etc... Belong to Yukito Kishiro. One of the finest writers and artists ever to grace the written pages.  
  
Bob, Dot, Enzo, etc... Belong to Mainframe entertainment, which it is a thousandfold  
  
Warning: This story contains violent situations. Anyone who is offended by violence please do not read any further.  
  
Chapter One: When Worlds Collide  
How long is a gap between one moment and the next? Short, would be the immediate reply. However, what if one thought and moved at the speed of light? How long would that same gap be? An eternity. An entire lifetime could exist within the span of a few seconds.  
What would an individual's life be like in a world between the seconds?  
----------------  
Alita was ready. She had her Damascus blade out and was going to end the life of a monster. She was weak, her body was severely damaged, her left eye had been plucked out, her right arm was severed and all that was left of her left foot was a peg she fashioned from a piece of wood. Yet none of that mattered to her. All she could think of was revenge. She thought she could trust Desty Nova, but he went back on his promise. He took Ido away from her...  
Even worse, though, was what he did to other people, other lives. He toyed with the human genetic code. He spliced flesh and circuitry in ways that never should be spliced. She'd mercifully ended the lives of his most recent test subjects, but she knew it wasn't enough. For her pain to truly end, Alita had to kill this mad scientist.  
Damn him, she thought, He looks so smug standing there.  
Truth is, Desty Nova was smug. He was always smug. He stood before her, arms spread in a welcoming gesture. "Let the Angels do battle..." he rattled off an obscure quote from some bygone era, "And let the soldiers rest."  
This infuriated Alita. "You think you've become some kind of God?!" she screamed. Her body bounded off the walls in a feat of impossible agility and leapt forward, blade ready to take the monster's head. She swung out, connected for an infinitely short moment, then passed through nothingness.  
The next thing young Alita saw was a vast emptiness. Not empty in the visual sense, for spheres and grids and cubes floating about her like some geometrical nightmare, yet she knew none of it was real. She knew from before that everything around her was the Ouroboros program that Desty Nova had invented.  
---------------  
Two universes cross, coming into the same plane of existence. One world, borne of flesh and metal, the other world, one of energy and circuit.   
These two worlds could easily co-exist without ever learning of each other, for they do not connect in any way other than through a mighty device called a computer. Yet, when the equation adds a madman resurrecting ancient technology, and a young girl borne of machinery with love in her heart yet death on her mind, who knows what might happen...  
---------------  
Though her mind was elsewhere, Alita's body landed and skidded to the ground with ease.  
"Impressive!" Nova exclaimed, "Although I've taken control of her consciousness, she still lands perfectly. I don't dare even approach her, lest I get slashed." The madman tapped at some controls, his hands being the first to knowingly control the power they represent in over a thousand years.  
"Father," a voice calls out. It is human, yet bears a resemblance to a digitized computer voice. "The Ouroboros Program will no longer work against Alita!"  
"Pshaw!" Nova argued, "The G.I.B. may have been destroyed, but that doesn't mean the Tuned's digital com-link is down. I can access the Ouroboros Program that I hacked into Alita's mind at any time!"  
The voice fell silent as the owner realized just how mad his father had become. Sweat dripped down the man's face and his colorless eyes dilated with the fearful knowledge.  
Nova did not care that his son had gone silent. He spoke as if from a script, created only for himself with his name as the only listed part. No one else could interfere in his private madness. "But I'm no longer content to just toy with her sub-conscious..." he continued. The emphasis he was putting into his words caused the veins on his forehead to jut out, threatening to burst. "I, too, have returned from the deepest hell of man's despair and madness!  
"I'll enter her dreams... and destroy the very essence of her will to do battle! I will see her beg!" he shouted, reaching the climax of his own personal dramatic speech. "And all you can do, my dear son Kaos, is sit in this world and watch as I tear Alita's mind to shreds.  
Kaos sat back from the screen he was watching so intently and sobbed to himself, "Oh, Alita..." he said quietly, borrowing the love someone else felt for the girl and using it himself.  
-------------  
In another universe, not far different from this one, the same girl, the same mad scientist, and the same young man experienced a much similar situation. In that universe, Alita broke free from Desty Nova's attempts at controlling her and she finally killed the man who had driven her thoughts for ten years. Shortly afterward, she paid the ultimate price for her retribution, and went on to save two giant cities from destruction.  
This has been well documented, and those details are unimportant anyway. In fact, in this world, Alita will also survive the Ouroboros Program and kill Nova, setting off the chain of events once again. However, it is the means of her strength that has changed in this world. In the other world, she had to rely on herself for that strength. In this world she will have the backing courage of a surrogate family to spur her on.  
--------------  
Just as realization was dawning on Alita that she had a whole body and that she was standing in the middle of the Scrapyards, just as Desty Nova had programmed her to be, her perceptions shifted again. Now, she found herself an empty shell, with no arms or legs to support her, lying in a pile of debris.   
Although she only knew about it from someone else, Alita recognized that this was the situation she was in when her surrogate father had found her.  
This time, though, she was conscious. She still had her black hair, and she could see her old bodysuit sitting in a neat pile next to her. Now all that Alita could do was wait... Wait for Ido to appear so that he could take her home, comfort, and rebuild her. Or perhaps someone else would find her this time, someone who would end up steering her destiny in a whole new direction. The thoughts excited her, instead of terrifying or infuriating her like it did in the other world.  
While she waited, she stared up at the sky. It was a sky unlike any she had seen before, no Tiphares, no vast blue field dotted by fluffy white clouds, nor the brightly lit star-filled sky she slept beneath during her ten years as a Tuned agent. No, the sky was a strange; rainbow mixture of colors floating against some sort of patterned ceiling that literally contained the sky.  
Even the waste and refuse Alita's body was mixed in with wasn't normal. Large shards of perfectly shaped metal comprised the majority of the trash. Even stranger was that all the waste was clean and unmarred. Even crumpled up pieces of paper had a pattern to the folds. The longer she examined her surroundings, the stranger they became. She hoped that she would not stay very long.  
It turned out that Alita did not have all that long to wait, as a strange, column-shaped creature with one big eye and thin wiry limbs came around the bend and headed straight for the pile she was resting on.  
-------------  
"No! No, this isn't possible!" Nova shouted in disbelief. What were only moments ago a working program that he had delicately handcrafted from a few random thoughts was now crumbling beneath his fingers. His plan was failing miserably, and he did not even know why.  
"Is something wrong, Father?" Kaos asked over the radio, "Alita is ruining your best-laid plans, isn't she?"  
"Oh, I'm afraid it is quite the opposite, my boy," Nova countered, "It appears your young friend has opened up some ancient virus lodged deep in the Granite Inn's memory. Now, instead of personally shredding your dear Alita's mind, the virus will do it for me."  
"Damn you, Father!" Kaos screamed, tears dripping from his eyes.  
-------------  
She wasn't sure quite when it happened, but Alita fell asleep soon after she found herself in the junk pile.   
She had seen the strange cyclopean creature, however, and was completely overwhelmed by its appearance. Its appearance alone sent her over the edge and, within moments, she was out cold.  
"And what is this, I wonder?" the creature asked itself as it looked at her. He just shrugged to himself and grabbed her body, or lack thereof, and hauled it away.  
  
Chapter Two: Welcome to Mainframe  
She wasn't sure how she knew, but Alita could feel herself being moved. She didn't have any idea where she was being taken, or who was carrying her, but she could tell that it was a long distance and that whoever was carrying her was having a hard time of it.  
[Maybe Ido's found me,] she thought. [He must be taking me home.] Although she didn't realize it, a smile came to her face, something she hadn't done in a long time.  
Yet, even as those thoughts came to her, she felt them slipping away. Her eyes opened for a moment to watch the strange domed sky, then fell asleep again, awaiting home and comfort.  
--------------  
When she awoke again, Alita found that she was not at home nor was she comfortable. She was on her back, staring at a bland gray ceiling. When she tried to move, she found that her body was still not attached, leaving her without arms and legs to function with.  
"What do you suppose she is?" a kind male voice said from nearby. They were whispering, but Alita's finely crafted Tuned ears could easily pick up the sounds as if they were shouting.  
"I don't know," a female voice answered, sounding similarly kind in tone, yet betraying a hint of annoyance. Alita could tell the woman wished to be elsewhere. "Pearson said he found it lying next to a body and a set of clothes."  
[Are they talking about me?] she wondered, [Where's Ido?]  
"Dot, I don't think you should be calling her an 'it'. I'm pretty sure that's her body," the kind male voice explained.  
"That body is made up of metal and wires, Bob. It's more like Hack and Slash than it is a Sprite," the female voice argued, "How can you call it anything but an it?" Alita no longer thought she sounded nice.  
[I can't help it if I'm a cyborg!] she fumed to herself. She would have spoken up, yet she felt she should listen more, to find out as much as she could before she revealed herself.  
"Give her the benefit of the doubt, Dot," the male voice fought back, "Just because she's not made entirely out of the same stuff we are doesn't mean we should treat her like an inferior. She has a processor, just like we do. Her face is soft data, just like ours is. Something might have happened to her to make her like she is."  
"I still don't trust it," the female voice finished, "You can reactivate her if you want, Bob, but you better keep an eye on her," and with the sound of fading footsteps, Alita guessed that she had left.  
"He... Hello," Alita called out hesitantly.  
A face immediately came into view. A man's face, or something akin to a man, having blue skin and silver hair. His eyes were a deep brown, soft and kind, as were his features. This was the face of a man who could never do anything evil. "You're awake!" he smiled happily.  
"Yes, I am," Alita answered, "Why isn't my body attached?"  
"We were hoping you could tell us. We found you at Old Man Pearson's Data Dump in two pieces. There's no reason you should be severed like you are, but that's not the case."  
"Have I been damaged?"  
"No. As far as we can tell your systems were disconnected properly. Once we reattach you, you should process perfectly."  
"Thank you."  
"Sure," the face smiled. It was a warm smile, a soft smile. Like Ido's... "Can I ask you a question?"  
Alita was snapped out of her nostalgia. "What?"  
"Why are you like this?"  
"I already said..."  
The man cut her off, "No, I mean why is your body made of metal?"  
That was probably the strangest question Alita had ever heard. "Aren't their cyborgs in your city?"  
The man shrugged in confusion, "What in the net is a cyborg?"  
"You mean you don't know what I am?" Alita asked in equal confusion. She looked around at the strange, sterile conditions, "Where is this place?"  
"You're in System Mainframe, Miss," the man replied matter-of-factly. "My name's Bob. I'm the Guardian of this system. May I ask you your name."  
"I'd tell you if I knew... But for now, call me Alita."  
  
Chapter Three: Making a friend  
Moments of infinitesimal time have passed. For a living, breathing human being, the time gap is so small, that there is no way to measure it physically. Yet for one who lives off energy, and breathes nothing akin to gas, more than two days have been and gone.  
-------------  
"You're doing great, Miss Alita," a one Binome wearing medical sutures exclaimed, "You're circuits are in almost perfect synch."  
"I've lived like this for twelve years, Dr. Cheron," Alita replied, stretching her soft metal muscles and fibrous tendons, "Going a day or two without my body isn't going to kill me." [My body...] she thinks to herself, [Why do I have my old berserker body again. That was destroyed when Zapan...]  
If the doctor had truly been listening to Alita's remarks, he would have heard the two references of a human, and their definition of time increments. However, Cheron was only interested in the readouts from the detectors planted all along the young girl's body. "Still, it's simply amazing how well you can synchronize with something so unnatural. This is a whole new field of..." he cut off, realizing what he said.  
Alita sighed, "Is that what you really think I am? Some creature who's so unnatural she should be poked and prodded?" her words were hesitant, her eyes welled up with sorrow, verging on tears. "Well I am not a machine, and I am not a science project!"  
"I'm sorry, miss Alita. I didn't mean any..." Cheron tried to apologize, only to be cut off by the young cyborg.  
"Please, leave me alone," she said. She plucked the detector leads from her metallic body and sat down on her bed, clutching at herself, "I've had enough for today."  
Cheron looked down with his one eye and slowly left the room.  
When he was gone, Alita finally broke out crying, pressing her face against her pillow.  
-------------  
Dreams of fiery battle filled the young girl's head.   
A creature whose hands were as big as her body with a long, slimy tongue attacked her, tore her apart. She came back, stronger than before and killed the demonic thing, but at the cost of a piece of her soul...  
A young boy, once fearless and starry-eyed, now cold and dead in her loving embrace, the remains of his killer nothing but ashes behind them. She saved him then, giving a bit of her life to keep his, only to lose him a second time...  
The scattered remains of great warriors lie dead and dying around her feet. An incredibly huge crowd of people cheered her on as she and a champion battled long and hard. Then, a single powerful punch brought her to her knees...  
A creature, borne from the body she once wore, attacking her relentlessly. The city was being destroyed, and it didn't care. All it wanted was her blood spilled, her pain and misery to equal its own. She won, just barely, and paid a deathly price...  
--------------  
Alita awoke from her teary sleep to an argument. Not one that would escalate into a raging fight like she was used to, but a disagreement between two friends.  
"Come on, Bob!" a young voice shouted outside Alita's door, "I want to meet her."  
"Not now, Enzo," Bob's voice explained, "She needs her rest."  
"But Bob, I just want to see her. I heard she's my cycle."  
"Maybe in a little while."  
"Please?"  
"I said, no," Bob answered sternly. It wasn't enough, though, for after a moment of struggle, the door to Alita's temporary room burst open and a jumble of two sprites came tumbling inward.  
Alita sat up immediately, backing up toward the cold metal wall her bed sat against. She didn't know what would happen next, but wanted to be ready for anything.   
When she heard Bob groan from within the pile, she jumped forward and did her best to alleviate him of the tangle. "Are you alright?" she asked.  
"Yeah... I just need a nano to compile myself," he said. He rubbed his head as he stood up, then pointed to the other figure, "That's Enzo. He's Dot's little brother."  
"Dot's..." Alita said hesitantly... [She hates me just because I'm a cyborg. Does that mean he will too?] she thought.  
"Uhn," a voice moaned. Alita looked down to see the young sprite that caused the menace. His skin was green, like Dot's, but he was much younger, maybe a few years younger than she herself appeared to be. His face was smooth, still retaining the childish appearance Alita herself had lost years ago. He wore some sort of Motorballer fan shirt, with the number 10 on his front, back, and shirt cuffs, and his pants were blue with a red stripe from going down from his waist to his shoes on either side. He was a child in every sense of the word. He was, however, kind of cute...  
Bob leaned down and helped the sprite to his feet. He then pointed toward Alita and said, "Enzo, since you're here, I want you to meet Alita. She the one you've been hearing about."  
"Alphanumeric!" Enzo shouted as he turned to face Alita, then turned away again, "Why isn't she wearing anything?!"  
Alita looked down at herself, not seeing anything wrong with her being unclothed here. She wasn't about in public, and there was nothing to see on her. True, she had breasts, but they were formed from metal and showed nothing off, and since she had no sexual organs, there was nothing to see in that area either.  
Despite all these things, Alita could feel herself blush, and reached for the body suit that Pearson had found lying next to her. Brushing the dust off, she quickly put it on, covering every bit of her body except her arms, face, neck, and from the knees down. "Sorry," she replied, "I'm better now."  
Enzo was hesitant, but soon turned back around to see the girl he came to meet. She was kinda cute, very pretty, and the body suit accentuated every curve. None of these details mattered to a little kid, however. All he saw was a playmate, since she looked about his stage, maybe a couple cycles over. "Hi, I'm Enzo!" he said energetically.  
"I'm Alita," she replied softly, "You're Dot's little brother?" she asked. He didn't seem to be anything like Dot, so happy and full of life, while she was cold and moody... at least around Alita she was. Bob said that Dot was normally a very nice person.  
"Yep. And one day I'm gonna be just as successful as her too. I've already got my own business, you know."  
Alita was taken aback by Enzo's burst. She stepped back a bit, and replied, "No I didn't know."  
Enzo mused on this for a moment, then smiled, "That's okay. You're new here so you probably don't know much about us. But I'll be glad to help you out. You know I know everything about you. I've been compiling data on you ever since you showed up. Is it true you're from the Web? I hope so because I've never known anyone who came from the Web before."  
"Huh," Alita asked in confusion, "How do you know so much about me? And why do you think I'm from the Web, wherever that is?"  
"Oh, Mr. Threet at the Mainframe Post has been processing articles about you," Enzo explained, "So are you really from the Web?  
Bob sighed, "Enzo, I thought I told you that Threet isn't a real writer. He likes falsifying texts to get readers."  
"I know... but this time I was sure he was telling the truth," Enzo argued, "It processed so well."  
"I'm sure it seemed that way, but Threet never processes the truth," Bob pointed out.  
"Okay..." Enzo finally let out. He looked straight into Alita's eyes, which took her breath away for a moment, "I'm sorry, Miss Alita. It's okay if you're not from the Web."  
"That's alright, Enzo," Alita said, grabbing one of Enzo's hands. Like so many times before, she wished she could feel warmth, but she could not. The curse of being a cyborg... "But please, just call me 'Alita'. I don't like Miss."  
Enzo smiled again, "Sure thing! Want to go someplace really neat?"  
Alita hesitated, "I'm not really sure... I don't know if I'm allowed to..." she looked to Bob imploringly.  
"I don't see why not," Bob replied, sensing the fear Alita felt. "You could use the chance to look around Mainframe."  
Alita smiled, "Thank you!" she said, and hugged the tall Guardian. She grabbed her brown, knee-high boots, put them on, and quickly strapped them in place before rushing out of the room with Enzo.  
"Race you outside," Enzo said happily as they took off.  
"But I don't know my way around..." Alita countered.  
Bob watched them leave, then sighed to himself contentedly. This was the first time he'd seen Enzo truly happy in minutes. There weren't any other Sprites his age around, which made him lonely almost all of the time.  
  
Chapter Four: Stretching the bits for a bit  
What would it feel like to be trapped within all the room you could possibly need? Where you are able to go wherever you please, and yet at each turn an impenetrable barrier stops you, trapping you within. Only, instead of a brick wall or chain fence, morality, virtues, and society are the barriers. You want to do the right thing as you know it to be, yet you are in a new world, free, yet not free.  
Alita is in this world. She is a warrior, undeniably, and has been one for twelve years, possibly longer. She was a hero to many, having silenced more than seven hundred criminals in her career as a Hunter-Warrior, and almost twice that many as the solitary member of the elite Tuned.  
Alita feels it is her duty to protect the people of Mainframe, as she has with every other city, town, or Factory Farm she has come across. Deep in her soul is the urge to save, to defend, and to enforce, yet, in this world, there is no need for someone of such extremes. There is evil, yes, but even evil is protected from complete annihilation in this skewed society. What is the Warrior supposed to do now that the war is over?  
---------------  
"Here," Enzo tells Alita, holding out a disk shaped object for her.  
She accepts it with wonder, "What is it?"  
Enzo laughed. "It's a zip-board, silly. Just toss it at the ground," he explains. He removed a second similar disk from his belt and showed her how.   
The disk almost struck the ground when it suddenly expanded, growing to twice, then three times its original size, then duplicated, creating a second one about a foot away, separated by a jointed metal pipe.  
Alita did the same, creating a similar object a few feet farther away then Enzo had. She just stared in disbelief, "Now what?"  
"Just jump on it," Enzo explained, "Let your feet do the flying."  
"Flying?" Alita asked in confusion. "You can fly here?"  
"Yeah, we do it all the time. It's much easier than walking."  
"Where I come from, flying is outlawed."  
"Why would they do that?"  
"They didn't want us to reach them."  
"Who?"  
"Tiphares," Alita answered solemnly, then shook her head, "Never mind. Let's go," she stepped up onto the zip-board, balancing precariously atop the two circular 'pads'.  
"Well?"  
"How do I get it to work?"  
"Just press your feet against the pads. Tilt down on both to go up, tilt up to go down, right foot to go right, and left to go left."  
Alita toyed with the settings for a moment, then looked back to Enzo, "Okay, now I'm ready."  
Enzo didn't say a word, he just shot off like a beam of contained light suddenly let loose. Alita quickly followed behind, using the zip-board as if she had been using one all her life.  
-------------  
The glory of youth. To be able to see the world for the vast horizon it is. What would a person give to see like that again? Who knows? For some, an endless search for the fountain of youth has become a way of life. An empty shell searching for something they can never find.  
Alita has been given a second chance, or perhaps it would be better to say a third chance at childhood. But is it possible for a girl with so much blood on her hands to ever be a child again?  
-------------  
"Where are we?" Alita asked as she finally set the zip-board down on the ground. The endless cityscape she and Enzo had flown through was breathtaking. Everything was clean and beautiful, and myriad column and sphere-shaped inhabitants worked on the streets below them. Now, they were standing on an island, one of many, which seemed to float in the sky.  
"This is Floating Point," Enzo explained, "It's a park. Dot and I came here a lot when I was younger. But now she's always too busy."  
"Why?" Alita wondered, "Shouldn't she spend more time with you? You are her brother after all."  
"Yeah, but Dot's always interested in her business programs. She never has any processing time for me anymore."  
"Oh," Alita said sadly. She looked at the ground, [Ido always made time for me. Poor boy.] She raised her head again. "So what do you wanna do?"  
Enzo smiled at that. He reached into a pocket that wasn't there a minute ago and pulled out a large circular piece of plasticized energy. "Frisbee," he said, "Catch." He tossed it at Alita, who tried to grab it, only to see it curve right back to the young boy.  
"Hey!" Alita yelped in surprise, "How'd it do that?"  
"It's all in the wrists," Enzo declared, catching it, "Here, I'll make it easier for you," and he tossed it out again.   
This time Alita was ready for the curve and she leaped forward with all her strength. She caught the Frisbee, but skidded across the grassy island with a grunt.  
Enzo laughed playfully at Alita predicament. "You okay?" he shouted from a higher level island.  
Alita groaned and lifted herself up off the ground. She looked around for Enzo but couldn't find him. "Enzo?" she called out, "Where are you?"  
"Up here," the boy exclaimed.  
Alita looked up and saw the boy, smiling playfully, "What are you doing up there?"  
"It makes the game more interesting," Enzo replied.  
"Oh," Alita mused. She aimed the Frisbee carefully and flung it forward, hoping to catch Enzo off guard.   
It didn't work. The boy did an amazing back flip, caught the Frisbee while in mid-air, and landed perfectly. "Nice try," he laughed, "Catch this one!" and he tossed it out again.  
It flung out, shot just over Alita's head, then spun around her twice before the girl could catch it. She really had to jump for it, and found herself a crumpled up mess on a lower level island. "How does he do that?" she asked herself aloud, before she stumbled to her feet again. Her body suit, which was perfectly clean that morning, was now covered in stains, grass and dirt.  
-------------  
The two went on like this for hours, or should I say seconds, before the darkness called them back home. No matter what Alita did, no matter her skills as a Tuned, no matter how well her Panzer Kunst stood up against enemies, it was all useless against this one boy.   
Enzo had no hate in him. It was all a game to him. Not a Game like his people feared, but a game played between two friends. He enjoyed every nanosecond of their little Frisbee match, and he had no malice in mind when he tossed the disk in such impressive displays, nor did he truly revel in seeing Alita fail. He was just having fun.  
But like all things, when time passes they must come to a standstill. Night was starting to fall across the system, and little Sprites must go to bed.  
--------------  
Enzo and Alita dejectedly watched as the sky turned a shade of crimson, slowly darkening at the top, and realized it was time to go home. At least Enzo felt this way. For Alita, the night was her time. Darkness was where she moved most freely.  
"We better get going," Enzo said dejectedly, "Night'll process any nano now."  
"So?" Alita asked. She didn't understand how night mattered to Enzo.  
"Night-time's down-time for the city. Most of the systems shut down. We won't be able to use our boards pretty soon."  
"That's okay. I like to walk. But you can go home."  
Enzo thought about this for a nanosecond, then looked back at Alita. "What're you gonna do?"  
"See what I can see," Alita replied.  
"Then I'm coming with you," he smiled.  
Alita stared quizzically at the boy. "Are you sure you want to come along? This could get dangerous."  
"Dangerous is my middle code-line," the young sprite explained.  
Alita smiled, a playful smile, similar to Enzo's. "Then let's go," she did a graceful leap and started jumping islands, making her way off Floating-Point.  
"Hey! Wait up!" Enzo called out, following as well as he could on his zip-board, which hadn't powered down yet.  
-------------  
When Alita reached the last island she looked behind to see Enzo trying to keep up with her. His zip-board was quickly running out of power, though, and he was barely able to land it next to her. "What's wrong?" she asked, "Did your toy run out of power?"  
"Yeah. Like I said, it's the power-down," Enzo said, holding up the lifeless disks.  
"Let me see those," Alita said. Enzo handed the zip-board to her, which she cracked open, exposing the wiring and circuit boards to the world. Without even realizing it wires and strange utensils extended from her hands, manipulating and reworking the zip-board components. [This is Tuned equipment,] she thought, [What is it doing in my berserker body?]  
A few nanos later, Alita closed the cover on the disk and handed it back to Enzo. "Alphanumeric! You mean it works now?"  
"Yes. I downloaded some of my own power into the boards systems, and rewired it to work a lot better than it used to," Alita explained.  
"How did you do that?"  
"An old friend taught me when I was little..." she shook her head, "Let's get going, okay?"  
"Sure, but... Where do you want to go?"  
"Bob said something about a Sector Thirty One."  
"Oh, no!" Enzo said worriedly, "You don't wanna go there. That's place is degraded, eight-bit, corrupt and really bad!"  
"Well, how else am I supposed to make a living?" Alita laughed, "Show me the way."  
  
Chapter Five: Silicon severed  
High atop his palace of deletion, a creature of hatred and lust exists. His name is Megabyte, and he came to Mainframe as a creature named Kilobyte, hoping to find a system he could easily conquer. At first he was right, the inhabitants feared him, some even worshipped him. He grew comfortable with his chunk of the System, lazily adding more to his meager empire.  
This all changed with a slight accident, splitting Kilobyte into three entities, Megabyte, Hexadecimal and Nibbles, a Null.   
His power severed, most of which went to Hexadecimal, Megabyte lost the foothold he once had. He rebuilt this, using converted forces as pawns instead of the destructive energies he once wielded. He built the palace he sits in now, and controls legions of loyal troops in order to control the city.  
Then came Bob, the Guardian who stopped him not just once, but repeatedly. His troop strength diminished again, he sits, waiting for an opening. He has found one in the body of Alita.  
--------------  
"General Failure," the entity known as Megabyte shouted out, scraping his metal fingers over the command chair he sat in.  
A window, solid, yet not solid, appeared, hanging in the air, defying gravity like there was no such thing. A zero Binome appeared, metal wires protruding from its form and its skin as blue as Megabytes. "Yes, sir!?" it saluted, it's eyes a sharp, evil green.  
"Have you caught site of the girl, yet?" Megabyte asked, his hinged mouth scraping together in eagerness.  
"Yes, we have, my lord. The girl is heading toward Sector Thirty One with the Matrix boy," the Binome replied.  
"Excellent," the Virus said joyfully, if joy could ever be a part of the near-demon's systems, "I want three squadrons of Virals at Sector Thirty One immediately. Kidnap the Matrix boy. I'm sure we can use him to get to the girl."  
"Yes, sir!" the Binome exclaimed, and then the Vid-window closed.  
Megabyte smiled evilly and tapped a clawed finger atop a button on the command chair. Numerous windows appeared, showing images of the young cyborg in various poses. Some showed her with magnificent and powerful weapons unheard of in Mainframe, while others showed her using equipment her body contained within. All of the images were from the outside world, filmed by Tiphares for record-keeping purposes.  
"If you are what I think you are, little Alita, I believe you may be just what I've been waiting for," the infectious dictator laughed.  
---------------  
Sector Thirty One. The Dregs of binomes and Sprites live, or more appropriately lurk, here. Not everyone in this sector is bad, but they have nowhere else to go. The majority, however, are rotten to the Core. They steal, plunder, delete and depurify everything they come across. The CPU wish that they could stop the degradation, but with the twenty four hour defense from Megabyte, they can not.  
Now, a young girl would like to do what she used to do again. Regain some semblance of her old life in this new world. However, as was said before, laws are a strange thing.  
--------------  
Rastamon, an infamous criminal sprite and one of the toughest in the sector, slowly sneaked away from the recently looted Cutting Edge Virtual Store with a bag over his shoulder. He was cautious, carrying a bag full of stolen Virtual chips in one hand and his masamune sword in the other, just in case a random CPU flyer came by. He was too busy looking in front of him to see who might be behind him.  
Alita lashed out, striking Rastamon against the back of the head with a vicious kick. She was careful to not take the Sprite's head off, which she could have done easily, and opted instead to just knock him out.  
This was not the case. Rastamon dodged the second he felt the air pocket in front of Alita's foot come toward him. Her foot only knocked him forward instead of knocking him out. He dropped the bag and slashed out with his sword, striking against Alita's torso with a ping of metal against metal...  
Then the sword shattered.  
"You be made of stronger stuff dan most," Rastamon commented at his broken sword. He struck out with his red right fist, hoping to strike her in the face, yet he missed, Alita having dodged gracefully out of the way.  
She brought her hand down on the red sprite's neck, bringing him to his knees. "You have no idea," she told him, holding up her right hand like it was a knife while her left held a clump of his knife-dread-locked hair. "You've committed your last crime. Your head is mine!"  
"Alita, Don't!" Enzo shouted from behind the girl.  
Alita turned to look at the young sprite, "Why not? He's a criminal, isn't he? I bet I could get two-thousand chips off his head."  
"That's not the way it works here," Enzo explained.  
"I don't understand..." Alita hesitated.  
Rastamon took the opportunity to strike out at Alita with massive, powerful punches. All he succeeded in doing, however, was bust seven bones in his hands. "Oh man, what de Net are you?!" he exclaimed.  
Alita looked back down at him. "I'm Alita," she said, then tapped him on the head with her hand. He fell unconscious almost immediately.  
"What did you do?" Enzo cried out in fear.  
"Don't worry, I only knocked him out," Alita replied. "I'm sorry. This is what I am. I guess that ruins our friendship, doesn't it?"  
"I... I hope not, Alita. I like you and all... I think you're really cool, but..." Enzo stuttered, then ran off.  
Alita dropped Rastamon and ran after the sprite. She didn't know why, but she could feel her heart beating quickly like with Hugo...  
--------------  
Enzo ran out of the alley, trying to escape what he saw, trying to escape how he felt... How he felt about her. Conflicting emotions can get young sprites into trouble.   
Enzo was no different. Just as he left the alley one of Megabyte's ABCs came by. The moment they spotted him, the carrier stopped and some twenty Virals came pouring out.  
"Enzo Matrix, your presence has been requested by Lord Megabyte," the lead Viral said. It swung its stun rod around dangerously close to the boy.  
"You can tell ol' Megabreath I'm not going with him!" Enzo shouted. It was in vain, as the stun rods came closer to him.  
--------------  
"...I'm not going..." Alita heard Enzo yell as she neared the end of the alley.   
"Get away from him!" she shouted. Her body went into full gear, moving faster than her mind and most of the eyes around. A quick jump kick knocked the first Viral away, while a burst of plasma formed around her hand. She landed in a half-roll amongst the remaining Virals, her right hand softly glowing blue. "Who dies first?" she asked.  
The Virals, not knowing any better, launched an all out attack on the strange girl who interfered in their mission. The stun rods just clattered against each other and the ground, for Alita was no longer there. They looked around in confusion, only to have half of them lose their heads in a quick swipe from Alita's right hand.  
"Whoa!" Enzo exclaimed, his emotions suddenly shifted from confusion to excitement as he saw Alita fight for him.   
"You must not interfere in Lord Megabyte's plans," one of the remaining Virals explained, hoping the dangerous girl would listen to reason.  
"I'll interfere with whatever I wish," Alita spat back. She swept out her left leg, bringing more of the Virals down. "Now leave!"  
The Virals, having a slight sense of self-preservation, ran back toward the ABC, which subsequently took off. Alita turned and watched them leave, a grin of grim satisfaction on her face.  
"That was alphanumeric, amazing, fantastic!" Enzo shouted in awe. "How can you do all that stuff?"  
Alita turned to look at Enzo, "I'm sorry. I just saw you in danger and lost control. I didn't mean to..." she was cut off when Enzo started yelling even louder.  
"Are you kidding! Those Virals were gonna take me to Megabyte. You saved me."  
"But... I killed these creatures," Alita pointed at the deleted bodies of Virals.  
"Those were Megabutt's Virals. They were the real bad guys!" Enzo explained, "If you hadn't saved me that Virus would've had me!"  
Tears began to form at the corners of Alita's eyes, "Then... You forgive me?"  
"Yeah, I guess," Enzo replied.  
"Alita walked up to him, looking down into his big purple eyes, "I have to warn you, Enzo. The last boy I liked died horribly, partly because of what I do. I don't want that happening to you."  
"A touching scene, I'm sure," a voice called out.  
Alita turned to see Megabyte looking at the two through a vid-window. "Who are you?"  
"My name is Megabyte. Yours is Alita, I believe," the massive blue virus commented, "I've heard quite a bit about you, young girl."  
"How do you know my name?" Alita demanded.  
"It's been... circulating around, shall we say," Megabyte replied, "That is not the important, bit, little girl. The point is that I know 'what' you are."  
Alita grimaced at that. "What do you want?"  
"Ah, to the point. I like that," Megabyte commented, he held his nails up to examine before going on, "I want to, enlist your services, Hunter-Warrior."  
"My services aren't for sale. I don't care how much you offer. I would never work for someone who tries to kidnap a young sprite."  
"Uhm, Alita... I'm not that young," Enzo argued.  
"Charming speech," Megabyte noted, "But I'm sure we can come to some form of agreement. For instance, I have data on you that I am sure you would not like the public to find out. Especially not your little boyfriend, Enzo."  
"How did you..." Alita asked in shock.  
"Oh, I have my ways," the Virus chuckled, "The point is, unless you want your little Enzo to find out what you really are I'd suggest you do what I say."  
Alita gritted her teeth. "What do you want?"  
"Much better," Megabyte laughed, "For starters, how about the plasma generator built into your right arm," as the virus spoke, a second vid-window appeared and Megabyte's hand extended from it, palm upward.  
"The generator?" Alita whispered.  
"Yes. Now give it here. I haven't got all day," Megabyte demanded, flexing his mechanized fingers.  
Alita reached up, opened a compartment in her shoulder, and removed a strange bunch of wires and ventilators from it. She held the device steady, handing it over to Megabyte's outstretched hand when her left hand pulled a small knife from out of nowhere and flicked it over the Virus's knuckles.   
Four fingers clattered noisily to the ground, dropping a dead silence between the three. A silence broken only by the angry howling of Megabyte. The Virus did not scream out of pain, but rather out of anger, anger that once again his plan had backfired.  
"Enzo already knows that I was once a killer. That's over with. Unless, of course, you try something stupid like this again. As for everyone else finding out, I don't care," she reinserted the device in her arm, "Let's go Enzo."  
"Uh, okay," Enzo agreed, following Alita as she walked away.  
"I will see you grovel for that, little Alita," Megabyte said, holding up his damaged hand, "I will see you pay!"  
Both Enzo and Alita ignored him, though, as they walked down the street, headed for the Principal Office.  
"I'm not, you know," Enzo said.  
"Not what?" Alita wondered aloud.  
"Your boyfriend," Enzo explained.  
Alita laughed, "Of course not," she agreed. [Let's keep it friends. Then maybe I won't lose you like I lost Hugo...]  
  
Chapter Five: Out Past Curfew  
A second chance. As some might put it, "To put right what once went wrong". What would you give for that second chance? Your soul? Your life?   
What would happen if you were given that chance without realizing it? A new life, a new chance at happiness and yet you're the same person made from the tragic mistakes of an old past. Alita must face this fear.  
-------------  
"Uhm, Alita?" Enzo asked as he and his newfound friend walked to the Principal Office.  
"Yes, Enzo?" Alita replied.  
"Why are you carrying those Virals?" he pointed at the bag Alita held. She emptied out the Virtual Chips Rastamon had stolen and placed the eye cubes of the fallen Virals within.  
"I'm gonna cash them in," Alita explained, "I'm sure they have a price on their heads, uhm, cubes."  
"But you told Megabreath that you'd given up being a hunter," Enzo complained, "Are you saying you didn't process the truth?"  
"No. I'll find something else to do now. But I'll need some chips till I get a new job."  
"Oookkkay. But wouldn't it be easier to just ask Phong for help?"  
"Who's Phong?"  
"He's the Command.com of Mainframe. He can do all sorts of stuff," Enzo explained.  
"And where can I find this guy?"  
"At the Principal Office," Enzo replied matter-of-factly.  
"I believe that's where we're going," Alita smiled.  
"Yeah, I know, but... can't we leave the heads behind?" Enzo asked.  
"Why let good chips go to waste?" Alita replied, "I'll get rid of them soon enough. Besides, Phong might want a Viral head or two. You know, to adorn his office with."  
Enzo stared at his friend, "Phong doesn't do stuff like that. He's not like Megabyte."  
"But he's the ruler of this city isn't he?"  
"No, he's the Command.com. He watches over Mainframe and gives advice. No one really rules us."  
"Oh."  
"You're weird, Alita."  
"So I am."  
-------------  
"Dot, you must calm down," a strange looking creature with no legs and a semi-flat head spoke.  
"Phong, How can you ask me to stay calm? Who knows where Enzo is," the young woman known as Dot replied as she paced back and forth within the entryway to the Principal Office. Her skin was green, as green as Enzo's, as was her hair and her clothing was a light tan, bordering on dark pink. Just by looking at her one could tell that she contained a greater sense of maturity and no trace of the more childish nature that her brother had in excess. This was a woman who was forced to grow up at an early age.  
"Alita is with him. He should be safe," the creature known as Phong explained, "She is quite a capable fighter."  
Dot turned to glare at Phong, "I thought I told you not to let Enzo anywhere near that thing!" she said, almost growled, "We have no idea what she could be doing here."  
"Alita has shown no reason for us to be alarmed. She is quite a compassionate young woman," Phong observed, steepling his fingers.  
"That thing has hands that could rip you in half and you call her compassionate!?" Dot argued, "It was built to delete, nothing less, nothing more."  
"Where has all this hostility come from, my child?" Phong asked, truly concerned with his friend's well-being, "This is not like you."  
Dot ignored Phong's accusations and tapped her icon, which pulled back the sleeve covering her left arm. The green skin was smooth for the most part, marred only by the large scar just below her shoulder and extending to her elbow. She grimaced as the wound was exposed to the night air, "You just don't understand, Phong. You don't know about them like I do."  
Phong did not hear that. Nor was he truly listening either, for as Dot spoke, two specks appeared on the horizon. As the specks came nearer, they formed the bodies of Alita and Enzo, quietly walking their way toward the Principal Office. "Dot, they are here!" he called out.  
Dot's head immediately shot up. She tapped her Icon again, causing the sleeve to lower and turned to face the incoming child and pseudo-child.  
-------------  
Alita could tell right away that they were not coming back to a welcomed homecoming. There were two creatures standing at the entrance to the Principal Office, apparently waiting for them. One was an oddly shaped creature with no legs and pipe-like arms while the other was the woman who hated her, Dot.  
Enzo was smiling widely, eager to tell his big sister about everything that had happened during the night. When he saw the look on her face, however, he stopped dead in his tracks.  
"And just where have you been, Enzo?" Dot demanded, "Do you know how late it is? I've been up for three seconds waiting for you to get home."  
"But Dot..." Enzo stuttered.  
"Don't 'but' me," Dot interjected, "You know you were supposed to be back before shut-down," she then turned to Alita, "And you. How dare you take my little brother on some midnight jaunt!"  
"We were only having fun," Alita replied.  
"Fun?!" Dot shouted angrily, "Doing what? Robbing a software store? What's in the bag."  
"None of your business," Alita answered coolly.  
"If Enzo was involved, then I have a right to know," Dot growled. She jumped forward, and before Alita even knew what was going on, the young woman snatched the bag and dumped the contents on the ground.  
"How dare you!" Alita shouted. The first two fingertips on her right hand started glowing softly, "That's my bounty you're messing with!"  
"Bounty!?" Dot said in shock, "You took my brother with you to hunt criminals?!"  
"Dot, it's okay, really. These were Virals that were trying to kidnap me for Megabyte," Enzo said, trying to stand up for his friend.  
"No, it's not okay, Enzo," Dot countered. She pointed accusingly at Alita "This 'creature' is nothing but trouble. She's dangerous, and I forbid you to ever see her again," and with that, Dot grabbed Enzo and walked off.  
-------------  
All Alita could do was watch as the only friend she had in the entire system was taken away from her forever, and as Enzo disappeared, she fell to her knees and cried. She cried as hard as she did the day Hugo died, as hard as when she finally found Ido, only to lose him again. The tears streamed down her face like a waterfall.  
"It will be alright, my child," Phong said, resting a hand on her shoulder. He did not know this girl, but took it upon himself to try and help her anyway.  
"No... It won't be," Alita said between sobs, "I've lost him... Just like all the others. I'll never see him again."  
"Dot will come to her senses eventually. She can not hate you forever."  
"Yes she can... I'm a killer. Everyone in the system knows it. I can't be anything else to them. I can't change... They won't let me.  
--------------  
High within the Silicon Tor, Megabyte laughed.  
  
Chapter Six: No Turning Back  
Some say that you have one chance in life. If you lose the chance, you've blown it. Alita has had less than one, yet in a way, almost a dozen chances. Rebirths of flesh and spirit give you those new chances.  
However, when a person has spent years of their life doing one thing, being one thing, striving towards one goal, it becomes hard to change their ways.   
Alita is no different. She tried to go a different path. She wanted to change for the sake of friendship, even defied a creature of manipulation and power for this goal. Yet when that friendship with Enzo was taken away by his own sister, she found she had no reason to change. Now, she just slips back further into the abyss.  
-------------  
Alita stared at herself in the mirror. Her golden honey-brown eyes, which usually shined so brightly, had darkened and faded with all the crying she had done. Those tears were gone now, distant memories that she wanted nothing to do with. She was still pretty, but she didn't believe so. Any beauty she might have had was lost when she lost her only friend.  
The dagger felt heavy in her metallic hand. Her next move would mar her forever. Make her what she had been before once again. She didn't care. There was no hesitation in those eyes. She lifted the knife, brought it to her face, and cut...   
Dark red blood splashed against the mirror, slowly running down it to the floor. Another slash, more blood, and another, and another, until the marks were finished. Slabs of thin pseudo-flesh fell to the ground with a splash. It was done; she was marked again.  
A towel dried the excess blood away, revealing the smooth silver marks she had made. It ran from under her eyes to across the sides of her face. The death mark. The symbol of what it meant to kill and be a killer.  
"You don't have to do this, you know?" Bob said from behind her as he watched her cut herself, "Just give Dot some time. I'm sure she could lose this basic hatred for you."  
"Thank you, Bob, but no... I do have to do this," Alita argued, "It's what I am, and it was silly of me to think otherwise."  
"But what you're doing..." Bob began.  
"Is the right thing," Alita cut him off. She turned around to face him, the light gleaming off her marks, "I'm going to rid this system of Megabyte, even if it kills me."  
"But, to try it alone. You could get yourself deleted."  
"Then I die for a good cause. I know what I'm doing. I'm a Hunter-Warrior, a force of justice in a world of injustice."  
"I know you're strong and fast, but... To do this alone... There's no way you can win."  
"If you'd like to come with me, the help would be appreciated," Alita smiled. It was an almost childish smile. Somehow, under all the hatred, all the sadness, there was still the piece of her that was in love with Enzo, in love with life.  
"I... I can't," Bob answered.  
"That's okay. I understand," and Alita walked out the door.  
--------------  
Pearson's Data Dump. A place for the old, the used up, and the ruined. But for Alita, it is a place of life. This is where she first woke up in this new world known as Mainframe.  
She sifted through the garbage, pushing old fragmented programs and corrupted disks out of the way, searching for something. A piece of the past, a chance at fiery redemption, and a way to die with honor.  
After seconds, she found what she had hoped to. Tucked into a gap in the waste, clothing, armor, and weapons lay in hiding. She smiled.  
--------------  
Alita was not the only one to make the discovery. For as she smiled, so did a broad blue metal mouth. "You've found your past again, haven't you girl? And with it, the weaponry to conquer entire systems," Megabyte said.  
Two bumbling creatures, one red, one blue, arrive next to the Virus's chair. Each has a dome shaped head with two beady black eyes set on a white indentation. Their bodies were lumps of metal, covered by giant shoulders, and balanced atop a floating sphere. Their hands were cone-shaped, with four fingers at the wide end and cylindrical pipes connecting them to the body.   
"Yes, Boss?" the red one asked.  
"You called?" the blue one chimed in  
"We came as you requested," the red one pointed out.  
"You didn't need to say that," the blue one argued.  
The conversation quickly became a jumble of confusion until Megabyte slammed his fist down on his chair. Both turned toward the Virus and spoke in unison, "Yes?"  
"Capture the one named Alita. I have plans for her and her 'guns'," the blue demon demanded.  
"Oh, Alita," the red one said, "I've heard of her."  
"Yeah, she's cute," the blue one replied.  
Before they could process another word, Megabyte slammed his fist down again. "Get going, you dolts!"  
The two zipped away, leaving a small cloud of dust behind and a very weary Megabyte shaking his head.  
------------  
Alita snapped the last piece of armor in place. It fit perfectly, just like it always had. [One advantage to being a cyborg, you never got fat,] she thought.  
"Alita, this isn't necessary," Phong said desperately, "Going after Megabyte alone will only get you deleted."  
"I have to, Phong," Alita replied sadly, "It's the only way. I have to die... with dignity."  
"Why must you die?" Phong asked.  
"Because without Enzo around, my life here would be meaningless. So I'll save all of you from danger, or die trying. I suspect I'll die."  
"Please, reconsider, little one. I could not deal with losing another sprite."  
Alita stood up and walked over to Phong, "I'm not one of your sprites to tend over, Phong. As a friend of mine long ago told me, I'm an outsider. I'll never truly be one of you. But by doing this, a part of me will always be with you," and she kissed the ancient on the cheek, "Thank you for your kindness, wise one, but I must go now."  
-------------  
"Dot!" Bob gasped as he rushed inside 'Dot's Diner'.  
"Vait at ze bar," the square television known as Cecil told the Guardian.  
Bob grabbed Cecil and tossed him to the side, "I don't have time for you! Dot!"  
The young woman calmly walked from the back of the diner to the counter, "What is it, Bob?"  
"You've gotta help me. Alita..." Bob began until Dot cut him off.  
"I don't care what happens to that thing!" she shouted angrily, "She took Enzo joy-riding around Level thirty one last night and went head-hunting!"  
"But..."  
"No buts. She's a menace to us all. Why should I care what she does?"  
"Because she's Enzo's friend, that's why," Bob argued, "She's going to try and kill Megabyte on her own. She'll probably get deleted."  
"Good. It's what it wants anyway."  
"How can you hate her so much? You've pushed her to this."  
"Don't attribute feelings to something that doesn't have any. It's a machine, it doesn't feel sorrow, it doesn't feel remorse, it just kills."  
"How do you know? There has never been another cyborg in Mainframe before."  
"I... I don't want to talk about it, Bob," Dot said sadly, lowering her head.  
Bob wouldn't take no for an answer, though. He grabbed her arms and shook her lightly, "Tell me. A young girl's life is at stake here!"  
Dot groaned in pain at the pressure Bob had put on her left arm. When he let go, Dot pulled away, clutching at her arm, "Yes there has been another cyborg here!" she shouted back, tears streaking down her emerald cheeks.  
"What? When?" Bob asked in surprise.  
Dot reached up and tapped her icon, revealing the scar, "The same cycle I got this!"  
Bob stared in awe at the scar, it was old, yet had never fully healed, the skin around it was slightly singed, indication of an energy blast. "How'd this happen?"  
"A long time ago... Cycles before you came here. Back then, my father was the command.com of Mainframe. He was a good man, but he was always experimenting, trying to make life easier for everyone.   
"You see, Lost Angles used to be the sister system, until it was destroyed by one of my father's creations. He was testing cyborg applications on terminally damaged sprites and binomes. Replacing damaged limbs and organs with synthetic parts. Then Kilobyte came."  
"Kilobyte?" Bob interjected, "Who's that?"  
"Megabyte's father. He was almost as bad as that blue-plated demon. But we didn't know he was a virus when he first arrived. He didn't look any different from a normal sprite. Except that he was badly wounded. My father took him in and rebuilt his body, replacing most of his body with cybernetic implants.  
"Kilobyte used his new body to his advantage, and went on a rampage. Nothing could stop him since none of our hand weapons were designed to destroy machines, only flesh. Then my father tried to stop him by removing one of the implants. It didn't work, and as punishment, he scared me for life. He threatened to do worse, not only to me, but to little Enzo if father didn't cooperate and give him more powerful implants.  
"Dad had no choice but to agree, and with some special machinery, Kilobyte planned to control Mainframe. That's when my father lured Kilobyte onto the half-evacuated twin city, and during an implant session, dad trapped him in an energy field and destroyed the system, leaving what you know as Lost Angles."  
"What happened to Kilobyte and your father?" Bob asked.  
"I don't know. I guess they died in the explosion. But shortly after that, Megabyte and Hexadecimal appeared."  
"So that's how they were created!" Bob exclaimed in realization, "The energy in that explosion must have conflicted with the containment field energy and instead of destroying Kilobyte, must have split him in two!"  
"I don't care about that. A cyborg killed my father and destroyed half of Mainframe. They're nothing but killers. All they process is how to take advantage of their metal parts and hurt innocents," Dot said. She ran up and hugged Bob then just stood there, crying on his shoulder.  
Bob didn't know what to do, whether he should hold and comfort her, or try to shake her out of her mood. Finally, he decided on the latter. "Dot, what you told me... It was Kilobyte's fault. He was already bad. Your father tried to do a good thing and made an act of life one of death. What you're doing... it's the same thing. You've got to help Alita, not hurt her!"  
Dot looked up into Bob's eyes, "But... she's a killer. She even admitted it to me. She had a bag full of dead binomes."  
"Dead Virals, Dot, not binomes," Bob corrected, "They attacked your brother. Alita saved him. Does that sound like a cold-coded killer to you?"  
Dot wiped some of her tears away, "N... No."  
"Then why do you hate her so much? She's everything your father dreamed of. A cyborg who uses her abilities to do good. Yes, she gets violent, but so do we. It's pure luck we haven't had serious bloodshed as it is. Alita's a good person, and Enzo likes her... a lot. Don't condemn her to death. Help her."  
"I'm not sure if I can. She wouldn't believe me..."  
"Please. Just try."  
"I will, Bob," Dot replied solemnly, "I will."  
The two moved closer to each other in a powerful embrace. Their faces moved closer together in an act of final admittance of their true feelings. And just as they were about to kiss, a vid-window appeared showing Phong's image. "Bob! Dot!" he shouted worriedly, "Alita has left the Principal Office! And she has her weapons!"  
The mood was broken, leaving a shaken Bob and an emotionally exhausted Dot in its wake.  
  
Chapter Seven: Some invitations just can't be refused  
Alita sat atop her mono-bike just outside G-Prime, her eyes taking in every detail, her mind devising a complex plan. She knew she would be dead before the day was done, but that didn't matter to her anymore. Perhaps when she finally died she could see Hugo again...  
She revved up her bike, preparing to enter G-Prime at high speeds, when two strange creatures floated down from above. They were identical in form, yet while one sported a red body, the second sported a blue.  
"Ah, it's her!" the blue one said.  
"Ahliiita," the red one agreed.  
"No, no, it's Alita," the blue one argued.  
"That's what I said."  
"No you said, Ahliiita."  
"That was for emphasis."  
"What is emphasis?"  
Alita had enough, she reached back and pulled a block of metal out of a sheath strapped to her back. In one smooth motion she flipped the metal, revealing it's three main components, which shifted until they formed a staff almost as long as her height. She pointed the Damascus blade at the two robots, "Stop your babbling or I'll carve what little brains you have out," she demanded.  
The two stopped and stared at her.  
"Good. Now, why are you here?" she asked softly, relaxing her grip on the spear.  
"We are here..." the red one began.  
"...At the request of Megabyte..." the blue one continued.  
"...To invite you to the Silicon Tor," they finished together.  
"And what is the Silicon Tor?" Alita wondered.  
"That is where Megabyte lives," the blue one explained.  
"Yeah, he's our boss," the red one added.  
"What are you two?" Alita asked.  
"I am Hack," the red one explained.  
"And I am Slash," the blue one chimed in.  
Alita just shook her head. "Never mind. Let's just go."  
------------  
Hack and Slash did not turn out to be excellent guides. When they set out, it was shortly into 1200. By the time they arrived, it was almost time for shut down.  
It mattered little to Alita, however, since her eyes could see into the majority of the color spectrum. The sky was darkening, but it was clear as day to the ex-Tuned.  
"This is the Silicon Tor?" Hack announced proudly.  
"Yeah. It's our home," Slash agreed.  
Alita pointed her spear at them again, "Now don't start babbling again."  
"Sorry..." the two visibly sulked.  
"Never mind them, my dear," Megabyte called out from a vid-window that had just appeared, "I welcome you to my humble home."  
"You know, I'm really getting sick of these things," Alita said, pointing at the floating object.  
"Yes, yes. I understand. But it is necessary, you see," Megabyte smiled.  
"Cut the bull, Megabyte. You know why I'm here," Alita accused.  
"As a matter of fact, I do. You've come to take my head, I believe," Megabyte replied, "I am afraid, however, that I can not let you do that. I have a system to conquer, and your weapons will help me do that."  
"This equipment is mine, Megabyte. You can't use it even if I gave it to you," Alita smirked.  
Megabyte frowned. "Very well. If you are so eager to delete me, I'll give you the chance. Make your way to my chamber on the top floor and you may have my head. I will put up no resistance. However you have to reach me first."  
"What kind of a deal is that?" Alita demanded.  
"The only kind I'm willing to give... Hack, Slash, delete her," and the vid-window vanished.  
"Do we hafta?" Slash asked his twin.  
"I'm afraid so," Hack replied. The two turned towards Alita, chain-guns where their hands were. They fired off a volley of shots each, but to no avail, for Alita was no longer there.  
--------------  
While the two were confused, Alita jumped above them, spear in one hand, sidearm in the other. As she fell she fired a single shot through the dome of each creature and landed gracefully.  
"That wasn't..." Hack said slowly.  
"...Very nice," Slash finished. The two dropped to the ground, not deleted, but incapacitated.  
"That deals with the first two cronies," Alita commented, then looked up at the Tor, "Time to reach the top." She pointed a finger at the sloped building, which launched out, a high-tension line following behind it. The finger imbedded itself in the structure and stuck, creating an easy access to the roof.  
But as everyone knows, the easiest route never is, the moment Alita started to climb the wire, an electrical pulse knocked her back down.  
"Now, now, my dear," Megabyte said, his voice booming all around the Tor, "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"  
"All you said was 'get to the top'. You didn't say how."  
"Then I suppose you do not want my head, after all."  
"Damn you!" Alita shouted.  
---------------  
"Bob, are you sure we'll make it in time?" Dot asked as she and the Guardian ran toward G-Prime as quickly as possible. Their zip-boards had given out on them some time ago, and full shut-down was in effect.  
"We have to make it, Dot," Bob replied grimly, "Otherwise Alita doesn't stand a chance."  
--------------  
"Nothing's ever simple with you, is it Virus?" Alita asked the air as she stared at the front door to the Tor. A complicated series of locks barred entry.  
"Nothing is too extravagant for you, my dear," Megabyte replied from a dozen different speakers.  
"Well then, here goes nothing..." and the ex-Tuned placed her hand against the main locking mechanism. Like before, wiring and small machines extended from her fingertips, manipulating, tinkering, and destroying delicate equipment in ways that the girl herself didn't know. Then, after a few nanos, the door opened, revealing a large group of fierce Viral soldiers, stun rods and energy weapons all pointed at her.  
"I hope you don't mind, but I had some of my people ready the place for you," Megabyte laughed.  
Alita just smiled, raised her spear and sidearm, and jumped into the fray.  
--------------  
The main control room of the Silicon Tor was filled with numerous vid-windows, each depicting Alita's battle against Megabyte's forces. Despite the insurmountable odds, the young girl seemed to be winning.  
"Herr Doktor?" Megabyte asked, turning away from most of the screens.  
"Yes, mein furer?" a Viral wearing a lab smock with ten wire thin fingers walked up.  
"Has the data collection been successful?"  
"Och, yes, very successful," the Viral replied, his voice heavy with a German accent, "We've learnt many of de inner workings of Miss Alita's cyborg body. Despite de workings being far in advance to anythink we have come up with, most of it is quite simple to duplicate. However, we are havink some problems with de plasma generator. We have no idea how it works or how to build one."  
"Then I suppose we will have to acquire the young girl's right arm, won't we?" Megabyte smiled maliciously. The doctor stared at the giant for a moment and then began laughing, which caused the Virus to join in.  
-------------  
After more than seven dozen Virals had attacked her and she reached the halfway point, Alita found herself nearing exhaustion. Her parts were wearing down, her joints were starting to scrape together, and her lungs were overloading.  
"Damn," she breathed, "Fighting Barjack was never this tough!" She checked her sidearm. It was empty, and she was out of spare clips. She tossed it away, along with the empty pouch of missile bees she'd used up four floors below. Down to five Arachno explosives and twenty rounds in her rifle, she found her odds of survival getting even smaller.  
"Giving up so soon, little one?" Megabyte asked from a hidden speaker.  
"Not a chance, demon," Alita replied. She stood up and carried on.  
--------------  
Bob and Dot stood outside the Tor, staring at the incapacitated forms of Hack and Slash.  
"Alita's work?" Dot asked.  
"I'd say so, yes," Bob agreed.  
"Then I guess she's cleared a path for us?"  
"Probably."  
  
Chapter Eight: Showdown  
Have you ever faced your fear? I don't mean something simple like finally touching that dangerous spider, or going into that cramped elevator car, or going into the water for the first time. I mean really facing your fear. Doing something with such strength and no reservations that it really doesn't matter if you live or die.   
Most people have never done such a thing nor will it be likely in their lifetimes. So, that's leaves the question. Have you?  
-------------  
The final floor. No more soldiers, no more hate, no more fear... Then again, all those things and more.  
Alita was wounded. Her right arm had been severed in a surprising attack by a lone Viral. That Viral was now on the street level right outside the Tor. Her left leg had a massive gash, leaking hydraulics and pseudo-blood from open veins. One of her eyes wasn't working properly. A stun rod got too close and shorted out half the circuits.  
"Welcome, little one," Megabyte said, for the first time face-to-blue tinned face. "I do hope you didn't have any problems getting up here."  
"I've come for your head, Megabyte..." Alita stuttered. She was weak from all the fighting, and a dull throb pulsed through her body in lieu of actual pain.  
"Ah, a worthy feat. But can you actually take it in your condition?" Megabyte wondered, "I doubt it."  
Alita held up her Damascus blade. The jointed portions that made it a spear had been broken off, leaving only the blade. She stepped forward, ready to strike out at the Virus, only to have him swipe her away. Massive cybernetic muscles shoved the girl with such force that she struck a wall near the entrance and ripped right through.  
She came back, still weak, but with more determination. She did an impressive flip through the air in an attempt to get behind Megabyte, yet was brought down by his massive knuckle claws. They cut deep into her torso, cutting some of her armor loose.  
"Is this really the best you can do, my dear?" Megabyte asked. He reached down and picked the girl up by her black hair, "What happened to the unbeatable fighter?"  
Alita couldn't answer. Her throat was clogged with her own blood and bile. The damage was becoming too much for her.  
"Can't talk, I see," Megabyte mused. He brought the claws of his left hand up to her face, "Perhaps this will get a response out of you," and he shoved one of the claws right into her damaged eye, then pulled back, plucking the sparking thing from her head.  
Alita screamed in pain, causing her to spit up some of the blood. This only delighted Megabyte further.   
In a final act of desperation, Alita swung out with the Damascus blade she still clutched in her left hand. The blade dug deep into Megabyte's chest, then went right through his right arm, severing it clean. The severed limb dropped, releasing Alita from its deathly grasp  
Megabyte roared in pain while he clutched at his damaged limb. Green energy spewed forth in torrents from his arm while trickles of red blood flowed from his chest.   
Alita reached forward, dragging herself to her knees and sliced out again at the kneeling Virus. The blade struck again, neatly severing Megabyte's head from his shoulders. Her job finished, Alita slumped to the ground, awaiting death.  
-------------  
Dot was the first one to make it through the final doorway. When she saw the trail of blood and fluid leading to the door, her pace steadily increased, until she was flat-out running. Then, when she saw the last few moves of the battle between Alita and Megabyte, she screamed in horror.  
As Megabyte's head rolled away and his body slumped to the floor, so did Alita. Dot couldn't help but dash forward to catch the girl in her arms.  
"Huh? Miss Matrix, is that you?" Alita asked, finally able to speak again.  
"Yes, it's me, Alita," Dot said, tears were streaming down the young woman's face. Alita was completely beaten in.  
"Did I win?" the girl asked.  
"Yes, yes you did," Dot replied, "You beat Megabyte."  
"Then I did good? I did good by you?"  
"You did very good, Alita. Better than Bob could have done. But... you need to rest now. You... You've had a long minute."  
"Don't worry, Miss Matrix," Alita said. She reached up with her remaining arm and brushed a tear from Dot's cheek, "You won't have to deal with me anymore..." and she lay silent.  
"Noooooooooo!!!" Dot screamed to the night sky.  
--------------  
At the bottom of the Tor, Enzo waited. He wasn't supposed to be out at night, but when he heard what Alita was going to do, he had to come. [Please Alita, you're my only friend. Don't do this,] he thought to himself.  
He didn't have very long to wait, for shortly after he arrived, Bob and Dot came out of the Tor, the Guardian carrying the prone body of Alita.  
When Dot saw Enzo she tried to look away, tried to avoid the hate-filled glare that possessed the sprite, but she couldn't. She could only look right back with sorrow and regret brimming as tears at the corners of her eyes.  
"Alita?" he asked meekly.  
Bob just shook his head.  
"No... Noooooo!!!" Enzo screamed, and rushed away.  
"I did this to him," Dot sobbed.  
"No, you couldn't have known," Bob tried to comfort her.  
"I should have!" Dot argued, "I pushed Alita away and because of that she's been deleted!"  
"It was her choice."  
"It was a choice she didn't have to make."  
"No, but she did anyway."  
  
Chapter Nine: Atonement  
Alita was surrounded by a haze, a blackness so dark that she couldn't even see herself. She knew something was wrong, but couldn't put her finger on it.  
"You did well, Alita," Desty Nova's voice spoke from the shadows within shadows, "But there is so much more you can do, and so much damage you have done."  
"You mean that you've done, Nova!" Alita accused.  
"No, you caused the damage. I only gave you a second chance," Nova replied.  
"I saved those people from a dictator!" Alita shouted.  
"Have you?" a second voice called out, "I'm not dead yet, little one."  
"Megabyte?!" Alita asked in surprise, "I killed you!"  
"Hardly," the demon laughed.  
"Alita, please don't die," a third voice pleaded.  
"Enzo?" Alita shook with fear, that is, she felt like she did.  
"Don't die. I need you," the boy continued to plead, "If you die, then who am I going to play Frisbee with?"  
"I can't help it, Enzo. I've used up my time," Alita answered sorrowfully, "Please forgive me. I'd come back if I could, but I can't."  
"I'm sorry, Alita," yet another voice called out, "I pushed you away."  
"Miss Matrix..." Alita realized, "Don't be sorry. I did what I thought was best."  
"No, Alita. I was cruel, I was hateful," Dot remarked sadly, "Now I can't do a thing to help you."  
"No. Dot cannot help you, but I can," the last voice spoke. A voice that Alita had not heard in so very long.  
"Ido? Is it really you?" Alita asked. If she had eyes, she would be crying them out.  
"No. I am only a ghost from the past," Ido answered, "The Ido you knew is long dead."  
"That can't be. I searched for you for so long... I even sold my soul to Tiphares to find you," Alita begged.  
"I'm sorry. I am gone. All this ghost can do is renew your spirit. I can bring you back," Ido explained, "Do you want to live again?"  
"Yes, yes I do. I want to be with Enzo again!"  
"Then it is done," Ido said, and Alita vanished from the darkness.  
"You have done well, ghost," Desty Nova said, and Ido disappeared. "Now let's make this more interesting."  
  
Chapter Ten: Life  
The mood in Dot's Diner was grim. Bob, Dot, and especially Enzo, were all in a state of depression. They lost a good friend a few minutes ago, and an enemy as well. Now, they had nothing to do but to sit and stew in their own loss.  
The door ringed as it opened and a figure stepped in.  
"Wait at the bar. We'll get to you in a nano," Dot said absently, not even turning to see who the customer was.  
"Well, actually I was wondering if any of you might know where Enzo Matrix is," the customer said.  
The three immediately turned to look at the customer, whose voice sounded eerily familiar. They were even more surprised to see a young girl with short, black hair, and golden honey-brown eyes wearing a threadbare trench coat over a leather body suit. They each knew exactly who it was, though there was no way it could be, but Enzo was the first to say it.  
"Alita?"  
"I'm back," the girl smiled. She walked up to the young sprite and gave him a careful hug, not wanting to crush the life out of him, "Did you miss me?"  
"Did I miss you?" Enzo said in disbelief, "I thought you had been deleted, off-lined, nullified, game over, no backup..." the boy went on.  
"That's the Enzo I know and love," Alita remarked.  
Bob just sat there, his mouth open in a shocked expression, "How?"  
"Does it really matter?" Alita asked, "I'm back and that's what's really important."  
Dot stood up slowly and walked up to Alita, who put the woman's little brother down. "I don't know how you did it, but, welcome back Alita," she said, holding out a hand to the leather-clad cyborg.  
Alita took it and shook softly, so as not to rip Dot's arm off, "Thanks, Miss Matrix. You have no idea how good it feels to know I have a home here."  
"Anytime," Dot replied with a smile, "And please, call me Dot."  
-------------  
Back at the Silicon Tor, a group of Viral scientists complete their greatest achievement. With a few switches pulled and a massive transfer of energy, a creature thought dead was brought to life once more.  
The Viral known only as Herr Doktor walked up to the newly reborn creature and spoke, "I am sorry we took so long to revive you Mein Herr, but it took us some time to create a new body out of the data we collected from Alita.  
"Time is a luxury, Herr Doktor," the creature said as it examined itself, "What I want to know is if you were able to install the weaponry the girl had."  
"Ach, yes, Mein Herr," the Viral exclaimed, "We gave you everything the girl had and more. Your reserves are five times greater, as is your strength."  
"Good," the creature said. It stood up and walked to a wall-length mirror to examine itself, "On this day, the Berserker Megabyte is born. And soon Megaframe will be crafted from this useless system."  
-------------  
The three Mainframers spent seconds with Alita, just chatting and laughing and enjoying each other's company. This would have gone on for seconds more if it wasn't for another customer coming into the diner.  
Dot stood up and was about to go into her usual welcoming speech when she was stopped dead in her tracks.  
The customer was a young girl with short, black hair, and golden honey-brown eyes wearing a threadbare trench coat over a leather body suit. Each of the four friends knew exactly who it was, though there was no way it could be, but Enzo was the first to say it.  
"Alita?"  
"Yes, that's who I'm looking for," the girl said matter-of-factly, "Would any of you know where I could find Alita?"  
Alita herself stood up straight, revealing herself to the duplicate, "I am Alita. What can I do for you?"  
"Hello, Alita. I'm Gally."  
  
Reboot Ending  
I come from the real world  
Through Tiphares, the Scrapyard, and Granite Inn,  
To this place,  
Mainframe.  
My format...  
I don't know anymore.  
I protect my friends, from their enemies,  
And mine.  
Some say the User is a God that lives outside the net  
And inputs games for pleasure  
I know better.  
  
Battle Angel Ending  
Cyborg Mermaid  
In the night's drifting waves, I wetted the tips of my feet.  
As the rain began to fall and my flaming heart became extinguished,   
these lips of mine could no longer feel your warmth.  
  
Oh just once,  
if only I could confess my love and let my tears flow.  
Oh just once,  
in the sea in the sky, before this life becomes washed away in its froth...  
will you be with this insignificant girl?  
  
With my love clouded, I could only embrace my sadness.  
Rocking the ship of sands as it floated upon a city of ruins,  
these fingertips of mine could no longer feel your warmth.  
  
Oh just once,  
I promise you, you will see your dreams come true.  
Oh just once,  
in the sea in the sky, before this life melts away and   
disappears...  
will you be with this insignificant girl?  
  
Oh just once,  
if only I could confess my love and let my tears flow.  
Oh just once,  
in the sea in the sky, you will see your dream come true.  
  
Oh just once,  
as everything crumbles away, I long for your strong embrace.  
Oh just once,  
if I could feel the warmth again, and since I'm about to break  
away into pieces...  
will you be with this insignificant girl?  



End file.
